Another England – review

Caroline Lucas’ Another England offers a lucid insight into the ways the English might cultivate an inclusive ‘national story’. While Englishness in political form has long been wielded by the right in a bid to promote a homogenous, nativist and atavistic vision of the nation, Lucas imagines an alternative ‘English consciousness’, rooted in the recognition of stories of solidarity and dissent.

Owing to the commonly entrenched affiliation of ‘English identity’ with nationalist ideology, there has been an understandable reluctance from many on the left to acknowledge the potential for an inclusive and progressive notion of Englishness. Such left-wing dissociation, however, allows the right to promote their own regressive idea of Englishness with impunity.

Lucas correctly acknowledges that while progressives shy away from developing their own ‘national story’, there is a heightened risk that the right’s divisive ideal of Englishness will become the dominant concept through which alienated voters engage with their nationhood. Lucas’ intervention is not only timely, but also imperative.

England and the left

One potential limitation of Another England is that Lucas does not give disaffected working-class voters enough in-depth attention to convince them that the ‘English consciousness’ she promotes would also represent and benefit them. It is not Lucas’ job to convert right-wing voters to the left, but it is nonetheless crucial to further the possibility of forming a left-wing government in the future.

Another England may be read as a text that seeks comprehensively to appeal to the whole electorate, addressing a broad array of pressing issues such as the climate crisis, the post-Brexit landscape, the harmful legacy of empire, and the prospect of a future post-UK English state. The book will likely resonate with a left-wing readership than a more general one, but this would still be a valuable step forward.

A new England

Lucas’ evaluation of how we might foster a progressive Englishness is a far more honest, balanced and just approach to nationhood than we see elsewhere in the mainstream political sphere. It encourages an inclusive form of nationwide folk politics which celebrates the nodes of dissent in English heritage – the Tolpuddle martyrs, the suffragettes, Robin Hood – and weaves together such stories into the fabric of an alternative history.

In this way, Another England situates itself within a rich tradition of literature that draws on folk politics and histories of dissent to advance the possibility of a new, radical Englishness. Lucas’ text, for instance, promotes the building of a Blakeian ‘Jerusalem’, and corresponds with Billy Bragg’s The Progressive Patriot by seeking to reclaim Englishness from far-right nationalism through inclusiveness and social justice, but Lucas complements these ideals with concrete policy proposals.

Further, Another England may be read in direct relation to E P Thompson’s assertion that: ‘History is a cultural form within which we fight and many have fought before us.’ Lucas, like Thompson in The Making of the English Working Class, underscores the importance of working within history to harness solidarity, but she more explicitly extends the applicability of this practice to contemporary issues, projecting a forward-looking vision for England.

Lucas imagines an alternative ‘English consciousness’, rooted in the recognition of stories of solidarity and dissent

In contrast to the right’s engagement with English history, Lucas’ conversations with the past (and particularly with literary history) are not insular, exclusive or nostalgic. Instead, they point to the long-standing heterogeneous character of Englishness and thus advocate for the co-operation of diverse contemporary identities in creating a collective story that is reflective of citizens’ differing ‘Englands’.

Lucas’ suggestions for how we foster this alternative Englishness are most thoroughly concretised in her conclusion, where she makes compelling arguments for electoral reform, replacing the House of Lords, and challenging the role of the monarchy, among other actionable steps. She acknowledges that much of this would likely depend on the introduction of a new constitutional settlement in a future independent England, but there is no reason for us not to bolster our efforts to popularise the support for such changes in the present, particularly as ‘the politics of England’ has been firmly at the centre of British discourse in recent years.

While there are facets of the Englishness debate that Lucas does not explore comprehensively, it would be impossible for one volume to cover all bases of such a broad and contentious topic in detail. The creation of a collective English story, which stands to represent and benefit all, relies on an open conversation between multiple texts authored by writers of various identities and experiences of the nation. Another England is a valuable contribution to this vital discussion and makes clear the progressive change that can be achieved by championing an Englishness characterised by inclusiveness, solidarity and dissent.

This article first appeared in Issue #245 Beyond the Ballots. Subscribe today to support independent socialist media and get your copy hot off the press!